American Apparel

A recent American Apparel billboard

American Apparel is a clothing manufactuter in the United states. They do all the design, marketing, and advertsing themselves and have built up a repuation of being one of the "coolest" brands among teens. They are best known for their use of block colour in their clothing which has expanded from just T-shirts to   full male and female ranges and even down to clothes for dogs. Aside from their clothes the biggest thing they are known for is their adverts.

They are known for producting provocative and controversial ads featuring models who are their own employees, people who have sent their won images directly to the company or even recruited on the street by Dov Charney, the company's President and CEO. Their style is instantly regoniseable and this has been a big part to who the company has gain such a following. Their adverts have been described as "sexually charged" and feature the models in a very honest way. They show all their natural blemishes and imperfections in natural states, as if they have been caught just wearing the clothes themselves casually.

Although they have received a fair amount of critisism for their ads, they have also recived praise for their honest portrayl of woman and the fact no editing is done before publication. They have also won awards for these ads for the way such a simple advert has almost instant brand regonition.

This is my favourite type of fashion photography. When comparing these images to the black and white studio one I posted earlier you can see what I mean when I say these feel so much more "real". This is probably because to an extent they are. As I said before, most of the time the models are just normal women in settings they are comfortable in. I think this style embodies the way I feel about people photography and fashion photography in one and I am always greatly inspired by them.

This is my favourite image I haev found. The powerful composition matched with the simple and unobtrusive branding is what I love. 

Narrowing myself down

I have never been able to label myself as a photographer or the style I like the best. I like to use film the majority of the time and photograph anything and everything that I see and like. Unfortunately I don't think that will make me much money in life so I need to narrow myself down and bit and get a clearer picture of myself as a photographer. 

I know I like film over digital which is a big point. Thats not to say I can't use or appreciate digital. There are obviously times where it is much better suited for the job. Also the convenicene of it is a massive advantage over film in industries which require quick turnarounds and need to make sure they have the shots they require. 

I now need to work out what I enjoy shooting the most and where my strengths lie and how I can translate them into business. I think I am good a photographing people but in more of a casual way rather than in more of a seriously model way. I strongly dislike images like the one below. 

Ignoring this particular photo, it is just an example.

I don't like how fake it feels for one. Nothing about the image is real, the pose, the models skin and the setting. Everything is controlled and I personally find this boring. There is no excitement in this for me. I find it dull and uninspiring. I know I am perfectly capable with producing an image like this, and if I had to or was asked to I would have no problem with it. I just don't want to go out of my way to do things like this.

Fashion images like this I find much more interesting. When they are set in real world places and set up to acheive a particular look and overall mood. Images like these say so much more than ones like above even if they are also sometimes shot in studios with built sets. Although I like them I know I am not great at thinking up the overall look from nothing. I find it hard to think of ideas for fashion shoots like this which is why I usually shy away from it as a style. But if I come across somewhere that I feel could work, suddenly ideas come flowing. This is something I need to work on. 

For example I would probably find it hard to think of an idea like this but I do really like it and would love to try something like this. I suppose this may not be a huge problem for me if I was to get into this field as their are usually Artistic directors on shoots like this who would be in charge and aid the photographer with generating basic ideas.